Page 57 of Wolf's Whisper

"Catch!" he called out to me, and as he did, he threw a short dagger in my direction. With a thud, the blade clattered to the cold ground, only a couple of metres in front of my feet. There was no time to ponder how he had known I would be joining him, but I didn't feel like figuring it out right now. All I knew, was that I now had a knife to protect myself with and that was good enough.

The handle of the blade was cold against the palm of my hand and I suddenly wondered why I hadn't taken out my own knife. I had one in my backpack. Had I really expected I'd be able to keep Aspen in check? Did I really think I would be able to get out of this battle without having to fight myself? Was I really relying on the group so much I didn't even feel the need to weapon myself?

Damn it, Akira! Stop being so helpless and start doing something!

I tightened my grip on the blade and jogged towards JP, trying to figure out how to attack one of the men without ruining his flow, getting him killed, or getting myself killed.

Why did I think I could do this again?

My wolf growled, bringing up another image of Ashleigh on the ground with the man straddled on top of her.

A flash of white, hot rage sizzled through me as I ran towards the man closest to me.

Idiot.

As I felt the knife sink into the flesh of his arm, and the unmistakable scent of fresh blood hit my nostrils, my stomach turned and I sank to my knees.

Oh gods, I wasn't made to be killing people. Digging a blade into someone's body felt utterly disgusting. Instead of just staying back and letting the group handle it, I had now caught this man's attention and angered him.

He spat on the ground and with a snarl on his face, yanked the blade out of his side. His blood was gushing out of the wound I had created, but he hardly seemed to notice. With a determined look on his face and a mean glint in his eyes, he approached me. He was going to kill me. With my own knife. Well, with JP's knife, really, but who has time to make that distinction?

I really was going to die here. In the midst of my new family. In front of my mates' eyes. In the middle of the Aladwin forest, they would have to bury my body. If there were any of my comrades left to bury me, that was.

I wrapped my arms around my body, trying to stop myself from shaking. I shot a quick prayer to the Great Wolf, telling him I was coming sooner as expected and begging him to welcome me into his kingdom.

Another prayer went to my grandparents, to my mother, telling them how sorry I was for failing my mission and not bringing back the Winter Stone. For disappointing them, even though they had never expected anything from me.

And lastly, I thanked my wolf, for always sticking with me, even though she had nowhere else to go. At least we got to meet our mate. Our mates.

I squeezed my eyes shut, not wanting to see my boring life flash in front of my eyes and begged the Great Wolf my death would be quick and painless. That it would be over before I knew it. That he would take my life and protect the others. Danny, Darren, Regan, JP, Aspen, and of course, Ashleigh.

Ashleigh. My beautiful mate. Who was lying on the ground. Maybe soon enough, she would join me in the afterlife.

The scent of musk and dirt hit my nostrils, making me almost gag. Was this really the last thing I would smell before I died? Couldn't it have been something nicer, like Ashleigh's wild strawberries? Then again, if I'd meet her in the afterlife, I'd have an eternity of strawberries.

I felt his fingers curl into my hair as he yanked my head upwards. "It's better when you can look death in the eye," he growled, his eyes flickering menacingly.

I whimpered, trying to crawl away, but his grip on my hair was too strong. I needed to get out. I needed to free myself. I felt around the cold ground, for something, anything I could use as a weapon. A lost knife, a broken shard, a branch. Nothing. Just muddy snow and dirt. Dirt that I would soon become.

My attacker pulled harder, stretching my neck backwards in an unnatural fashion. With a laugh, he painted lines on my skin with his own blood. Blood that I drew from him in a futile attempt.

This was it. I was about to die.

And as I drew out what I thought to be my last breath, I waited. For the pain, for the panic, for the fear. And then for the release.

But it never came. Instead, the man in front of me drew in the last air he'd ever take and with a soft gasp, he sank to his knees. With his eyes rolling back into his skull, he fell down onto the cold forest floor, a knife I immediately recognised, speared through his neck.

Darren.

A wave of gratefulness surged through my body as I realised that not only was the rest of the group looking out for me, they were all protecting me. JP had handed me a knife without hesitation and even Darren had given up his blade to protect me. And I knew how much he loved that blade, he wouldn't have done that if he didn't genuinely care about me.

But the warm feeling of finally belonging quickly faded away as my stomach churned. This was not the time to feel gushy. There were still many threats out there and I couldn't afford to lose focus.

The scent of blood hit my nose as I pulled Darren's blade out of the man's neck. Disgusting. With my arm in front of my face, I gagged as I used his leather jacket to wipe the blood away. I pried JP's dagger from his fingers and let out a sigh of relief now that I was armed again. I should stop attacking randomly, but if someone charged at me, at least I could try to defend myself.

But before I had a chance to re-orientate myself, I realised it had suddenly become very quiet. The only thing I heard was the heavy breathing and panting from my companions. I quickly scanned our circle, the silence of the forest suddenly deafening me. The first wave of men had fallen.

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